Breaking News

DIY: Carburetor Cleaning for 4G13p/15p

Before I start, I would like to tell what problem that I am facing now. My daily drive is a 18 years old Proton Saga equipped with a 4G15p. A lot of people will wonder why I am not driving Satria, Celica or Kancil instead of an old junk. For Satria and Celica, both modification done on them and the fuel consumption are not suitable for daily use while the Kancil is use by my dad so this is the reason why I am not using them.

Back to the problem, the aging 4G15p already clocking at 200K KM mileage and haven't done any major overhaul. Recently the engine will shaking after turn off the engine and the symptom looks like it running rich and there is fuel in the combustion area. The next problem is the fuel consumption is pretty high where about RM0.25 per KM and this consider bad for a 4G15p manual engine.

The first thing I plan to do is to clean the carburetor. Therefore I went to BROTHERS- a well known accessories shop but with a not very good reputation to get a carb cleaner and Unifide Clear-Out Carb & Choke Cleaner is my choice and it cost me RM22.90.

First thing to do is open up the air filter cover, remove the the air filter. You can clearly see the carburetor opening valve which it suck in air from the filter. I did not remove the entire air filter cover so can really see the whole carburetor.

Next, spray the carb cleaner to the carburetor without starting up the engine. You can obviously see that the carburetor is being cleared.

After that start the engine, press the throttle pedal and spray the carb cleaner into it. Beware that if you spray too much into the carburetor, the engine will die off. It is normal and just start the engine and repeat the above steps.

After doing that, the engine is easier to start. I already pump in a full tank of fuel. Let's see what happen after a week whether this will improve the fuel consumption of the aging 4G15p or not.

60 comments

Anonymous
said...

Hi, i came across your blog & i find this topic is interesting. ben, can i get some advice from you? my car is old proton saga(4G15P). black smoke come out from my car exhaust pipe& my fuel consumption is super duper high. So, i suspect my carburetor need to change but i know it will cost me a big of money which now im out of budget. thus, i interested to know the outcome after you apply the carb cleaner. is it work? or is there any other way beside using carb cleaner which i can save my carburetor rather than change the whole things?

Hi, it's works for my saga. Average help me to save up few cents for my fuel consumption and the engine run smoother compare to previously.

However for your case, black smoke from exhaust is your car running too rich. Which means that your fuel is not totally finish burned. There is a possible cause of this kind of problem is a stuck choke plate. Try to examine the choke, if the choke plate is nearly close or close then you car is suffering from stuck choke problem. Then apply the choke spray to it.

hi ben, how to check the choke plate & vacuum hose? do you have any illustration for that? since it work for you, i will buy the carb cleaner you used for your car & then see the outcome. if it is still the same, then i send to the mechanic for service. thanks for your advices!it is very helpful & the illustration above is very clear& easy to follow:)

Hi, sorry that I do not have a picture of the choke plate. Anyway you can see it easily after you remove the carb from your engine. For checking the vacuum leak, you can use the carb cleaner or starting fluid and spray around the vacuum hose. Any noticeable change in idle speed and there is your leak.

Water is a by-product of the combustion of gasoline. Gasoline does contain hydrogen, and when gasoline is burned, some of that hydrogen combines with the oxygen being used to burn it and then produce water.

Most of the time, the exhaust is hot enough that the water remains in the form of invisible water vapor. When the engine is cold, the exhaust pipe is cold, or the outside air is cold, this water may condense and become visible as "steam" or as liquid water dripping from the tailpipe.

My calculation is based on per km. As I posted in the post, my previous fuel consumption is about 0.25 cent per km and now is around 0.22-0.23 cent per km. So for full tank of fuel, I am able to save up about RM7-8.

I am not sure if this still related with this blog. My car (1989 Mitsubishi lancer/4G15) seems to shake too much when in Idle or when I turn on air conditioner? What can be the reason? Should I increase the engine revolution?

The rev when idling is 1000 and it gets down to about 500 and the engine sometimes shuts off when the air conditioner is on also the whole car's body shake as well but shaking stops when I turn of the Aircon.

I am not sure your engine is running on carburetor or EFi. If yours are EFI, try to check the Fast Idle Control Device (FICD). If yours are carb, then try to adjust the aircond ON/OFF idle screw. If either still not able to solve your problem, most probably your aircond compressor is dying/jam.

hi ben, i like your post. my car (proton iswara 1.3manual 2003) having problem when i started it, it will shake badly and last for 1-2 minutes. no problem to started the engine, only the shaking, even when i press the throttle paddle the engine will shake heavily...

1. Engine/Chassis MountAny rubber or pad that has worn away will cause metal to metal contact between the engine and frame, causing a serious vibration.

2. ChokeA choke that does not close for cold-start conditions will not allow enough extra fuel into the intake manifold for combustion. A choke mechanism that does not disengage properly (open) will flood the engine and cause a noticeable vibration.

Iswara 1.3 is using 4G13p. You can see engine model at the sticker on the firewall of your wall. Anyway this is only applicable if you have not change your car engine. Second method is to look at the engine number on the engine block.

Hi ben, interesting post, and I have a question, my 4g15 carb can't start, the UFO ( fuel pump) is working perfectly but it seems like the fuel is stuck in the carb, not flowing to the combustion area! When I close the mouth of the carb, and a friend try to start it, the carb is dry,no sign of fuel at all

I'm driving old Saga hatchback 1991, auto.The problem is, i want to DIY tuning my carb.Just want a clear up, that the bottom screw adjust is for aircond off idle.The top one is for aircond on idle, and the middle one at bottom is for autochoke idle.

What is the best position for autochoke screw, near or far from the plate?

I have a 4g13 with a carb. In the morning the car starts but dies within 30 seconds if I don't accelerate. After few mins it runs ok. How can I tune the auto choke of this Pics will be great if you can provide. Thank you and Best Regards.

First of all, please make sure that your engine is still in good condition. If so, you may slightly upgrade your car by changing to a bigger carburetor. If your engine is 4G13 and by changing to 4G15 carb, you will notice some difference. A lot of people saying 4G13/15 carb are both the same but try to compare side by side and you will notice that there is slightly bigger for 4G15.

Hi Ben I read all your explanations and modification's ideas on the ​​4G13/4G15 engines. View you seem to be an expert I want your opinion, I have in head to boost my Proton Arena / Jumbuck to 250hp or more and also to put a 4Wheels Drive. Thank you in advance for answer me, your opinion will be of great help to me .

You may opt for a 4G93T 1.8 Turbo engine. It comes with a 4WD gearbox.Since Arena and Wira length and wheel base are almost similar, you can directly install the shaft to your car as well. However a 1.8T will not able to boost you to 250hp by itself. You need to have some modifications to it. For better option, you can opt for 4G63T 2.0 Turbo from an Evo.

And i got a situation here..I'm using iswara 1.5 auto 4g15 and the fuel consumption getting worst and worst..then my car vibrates a lot due to rpm gets low almost 300-500..after few days i saw black smoke coming out from exhaust and i already did top overhaul few months ago..so is it because of carburature or any other faulty parts..??

Hi Ben, i m using 4g15 engine. the engine always tend to die off randomly. it happened few months back and now it begins to happen more frequently. i ve changed the fuel filter but the problem seems remain unresolved. and there's one more thing, the amount of white smoke coming out from exhaust is too high. i wonder isit normal cause sometimes i do travel quite a lot with this saga. Thanks in advance and hope to hear from you soon.

I did something similar to u.. except i did it before seeing ur post.. I spray the carb cleaner to the throat and the 4 holes, as well as to the smaller hole u can see at the southeast direction connecting to the engine prior to starting and when it starts, it gives our popping sounds which i think is the backfire. Can you please advice on what can be done? It got worst than it was. Previously only stuck at 1.5krpm but now at everywhere below 3 and sometimes above 3.

Hi ben i have a proton wira auto 1.5 4g15 carburater..the problem im facin is sometimes my rpm will drop to the bottom & the engine will stop..sometimes my rpm is not stable..i have retune the carb..as the mechanic told me maybe the carb choke has a problem..the worse thing is in my state they is no mechanic willing to do a full service carb nowadays & even proton services centre too..pls advise..

Hi Ben. Just want to ask if its ok to put on fuel pressure regulator and a rev limiter on a 4g13 carb engine lancer 1995. If possible, is it ok with you if I ask for a diagram so I could install it myself. Thanks Ben

I'm using proton wira (1995) 1.5 Manual Carb 4G15. When I start the engine its too shaky for around 3-5 mins then its okay. And when I travels around 30-40km non-stop with around 120km of speed like that my temperature is rising up. but the radiator and fan motor is new changed 3 months ago only. still its like that. can i get some help. thank you.

Hi Ben, great info sharing. I've followed your instructions and performed the carb cleaning. It was as easy as you have described it and it does smoothen the idling of my engine. Might also decrease the FC but I didn't really check. Although, I guess it didn't help solve the issue I have with my 4g13p (lmst).

I have a hot start issues where i have to crank the starter several times to get the engine running. When it does starts, the engine is running with low RPM around 500-600. It will only rise to normal (900rpm) a while or if I throttle up a bit. What might be the cause of this?

2nd question is that I can see there's a vacuum hose attached to my intake manifold but it goes no where. Where should it connected to? I've been searching online but couldn't find answers.

FYI in the past few months I've already changed my starter to high speed starter (previously using old starter but with added relay - still hot start issues), fuel filter changed, new cable & spark plug.